I Have Seen The Enemy . . . .

. . . and it is us!

No, this is not a case of Nietzschean abyss-gazing, nor indeed Confucian navel-gazing, nor indeed some kind of Captain Birdseye naval gazing (did you know Captain Birdseye was, in fact, a real captain? No? You learn something new every day.)

And what we learn today is that states with a higher proportion of Catholics tend to favor gay "rights".

Just as an aside, I - as a committed and fully-paid up Catholic male in full communion with the old German dude in the wicked hat in Italy - wish to state I fully support equal rights for homosexual men and women with regard to marriage. I believe gay men should have the same marriage rights as heterosexual men, and lesbians as heterosexual women. Yes, indeedie! I believe gay men should be allowed to marry women, just like heterosexual men are. And lesbian women should be allowed to marry men, just like heterosexual women can.

I mean, surely that is equal rights, right?

Ooooo, I think that's enough acerbic sarcasm for today. My doctor told me I have to avoid it.

In any case, this latest poll. Or study. Or whatever. Yes, indeed - it seems as if the states where there are the highest percentage of Catholics support so-called "gay marriage". The study does not report on whether or not they support square circles, liquid solids, or perpetual motion machines.

So, what do we make of this?

Well, firstly and most obviously; let's consider the (standard) methodology for determining who is "Catholic". If you say you are Catholic (as far as these studies are concerned) . . . you are Catholic. It doesn't matter if you never go to Mass or Confession, or if you believe anything the Church teaches or not - it is a totally self-defined label.

So, what does this study really tell us?

Our enemy is us, it is within. It is a cancer in the beating heart of the Church.

I know this is perhaps polemic, but this is true. Right now, a majority of Catholics voted for Barack Obama (who, it appears, can also self-label himself as "not-a-baby-killing-Communist" in much the same way). This is disturbing, given the fact Barry O is, in fact, a wee bit anti-Catholic and opposed to the teachings of the Church.

So, bottom line? The Catholics in the pew (or, perhaps, not in the pew but on the rolls) are, generally-speaking, wishy-washy and soft on the teachings of the Church.

Solution? Why - it is down to us! Good Catholics, strong Catholics, kick-posterior Catholics! Yes, we need to go to these people (it is very simple - you will find them all over the place, including at family reunions) and tell them they are wrong, why, and persuade them to think right!

Exciting, no?

And how do we do such a thing?

Why, we can start by subscribing to RealCatholicTV.com, the finest internet TV station there is, and registering for premium access. This gives you access to hours and hours and hours of excellent classes and information designed to turn you into a powerhouse of Catholic knowledge and persuasion!

Click here! Register! Subscribe! Watch! Learn! Fight!

The Mighty. Falling.

Listen carefully - do you hear that noise? Three heavy, basso-profundo thumps followed by a disconcerting whirring?

That is the sound of Catholic Charities USA, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul and the Catholic Health Association dropping their morals like a live grenade, and Saint Vincent de Paul spinning in his grave.

Yes, it seems that the juggernaut of Obamacare marches forth, and three formerly-Catholic associations have not simply got out of the way, but have actually started pushing the carriage forward.

Or, at least, that is the way it looks. Because these organizations have joined in calling for health-care reform and are saying "We can't wait until the signing ceremony".

We'll, you are going to have to wait until after the August recess, it seems, but that is by-the-by.

Most (if not all) Catholics would agree there is always room for reform of health care. Health care could be improved - less bureaucracy, more bandages, less forms, more facilities. And so forth. And a Catholic organization calling for reform is not necessarily a bad thing. The issue is a Catholic organization calling for reform and supporting a proposed reform which encourages abortion, contraception, euthanasia and so forth.

The first of the moral principles is that one cannot do evil to achieve good. One cannot support a plan which will increase abortions even if it would help others.

Of course, we cannot assume the intent of these three organizations to be evil; it would be charitable to assume they have the best intentions .... which are, of course, used to pave the road to Hell. It is a fair-bet these organizations think the health-care plan as it stands is an acceptable compromise, that it will help some even as it harms others.

Unfortunately, that thinking is wrong and evil and false and altogether idiotic. And it needs to be opposed.

So, I report this too you via this blog post, and we await further developments - perhaps one or more of these organizations will change their stance.

We can but hope. And pray.

Back With The Ker-ay-zee News!

It is not just crazy right now, it is ker-ay-zee!

By following the above link, you will find an article about a Catholic nurse forced to help perform a late-term abortion. Now, doubtless you will all be saying, "Ah! So it begins! The violation of conscience clauses, the beginning of an official persecution against Catholics! She will never win the lawsuit and it will set a dangerous precedent!"

And, who knows, you might even be right.

But this is not what I am here to talk about. Of course, this does show a dangerous level of "we don't give two hoots about your religious beliefs; we want you to carve up babies!" prevalent in this fine nation of ours (note; the term "fine nation" is used mostly in a retrospective manner because, lest we forget, this "fine nation" currently allows the killing of babies legally, something previously only practiced by pre-Columbian cannibalistic empires, high levels of Classical Greek society who believed in a pantheon of gods closer to The Young and the Restless than the Bible, and overpopulated naked mole rat warrens.) The fact this nurse is forced into murder against her wishes under threat of losing her job and license and prosecution is worrying and shocking and a bad thing. But I am not here to talk about that.

President Barack Obama (who, under the advice of my lawyers, I do not describe as a baby-killing monster unable to go to the bathroom without a press corps and a teleprompter) is pushing a health care plan through Congress. Congress, if you remember from your civics lessons, is a bicameral house which seeks re-election. It is a slow, bloated monster and it produces law, which is kind of like sausage but harder to cook.

Anyway, health care legislation is winding its way through the bowels of government like something which winds its way through bowels. And this legislation includes a whole bunch of stuff which Catholics don't like (abortion, contraception, etc. etc.) But this case, if it gets enough coverage, could be a spanner in the works. The removal of the conscience protection clause is part of his overall health-care package, even if it does not make it into this round of health-care legislation.

This case could attract attention and give a human face to the problem of conscience protection, and show it up for what it is. This is not a matter of there being no-one else to perform this horrible "surgery" - there were other nurses, but a supervisor forbade any of them being called! So, this isn't about someone wanting to make sure someone has an abortion - this is about liberals howling "We will make sure Catholics get their ugly papist hands bloody! Hahahaha! We attack the Church! We will bury your Church!"

Yeah. Napoleon said that, you liberal fools. And look what happened to him. He's buried in France.